Safety On Northgate, Students Say It's Not An Issue

By Toni Harrison&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Sat 3:50 PM, Oct 15, 2005&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Sat 3:50 PM, Oct 15, 2005

"Specifically on Friday and Saturday nights an additional third squad is working those busy hours that are assigned to various alcohol enforcement jobs," said Officer Joe Benningfield, College Station Police Department.

Safety on Northgate, it's been a hot topic. From controlling public intoxication to cracking down on assaults, College Station police have had their hands full.

Earlier this week Texas A&M Student Government made a presentation to College Station City Council saying Northgate was unsafe and more security was needed. However, some students say that's not true.

Many of the safety concerns stem from recent assaults on international students. One frequent Northgate visitor says those incidents are isolated and in his eyes, many people are over reacting.

"Nobody's really getting that crazy, you are always going to have people that do stupid stuff," said Todd Stewart, Texas A&M former student.

While some students are complaining that safety on Northgate is an issue, others are saying there are too many police and they are taking away from the Aggie tradition.

"Now it just seems like cops are just looking for people to bust and it's really, I don't want to say bringing down Northgate, but it's not helping the atmosphere that once was A&M and once was Northgate," said Stewart.

But police say that's not the case.

"A lot of that enforcement is done because we are trying to prevent larger problems. If we can write an MIP or take someone to jail for PI, we're trying to cut down on that DWI later down the road," said Benningfield.

Even though students are divided on the topic, safety is the bottom line and police have to do their job with the resources they have.

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